Friday, April 23, 2010

skewered flowers

paper flowers! everyone under the sun has made these, so no points for originality here but wow did we have some rainy day fun making them. sticking to my attack of minimalism (no new stuff), i made myself work with what i had: coffee filters, liquid watercolors, crayons, papertowels, ribbon and bamboo skewers. why i had bamboo skewers on hand is anyone's guess, but they were perfect for the job.

i almost caved and went out to buy eyedroppers to apply the watercolor, but i realized that the chance of having a bottle of expired kiddie tylenol was pretty good. sure enough i found august 2008 in the medicine cabinet, tossed the drug and had my eyedropper. with layers of aluminum foil and papertowels underneath to catch the overflow, i scribbled on the filters with crayons, splotched on the watercolors (slightly diluted), let them dry, scrunched two filters together, skewered them with the sticks and secured them with ribbon. they look like 4-H fair prizes to me.

the dyed papertowels were a nice by-product - no revelation there, as i'm probably the last to try that too! but we'll enjoy using those bits for collage.

here's our dirty porch. the glass vases are from IKEA - i decoupaged them with tissue paper, painted and sealed them. fun and easy.

and here's birdiegirl, my little flower helper. i had horror visions of her dumping liquid (permanent) watercolor all over the kitchen but she kept a steady hand with the dropper while i was the one who turned the floor into the blue grotto. right now we're watching an old chiquita banana commercial and waiting for the drain guy to rescue our basement from last night's thunderstorms. happy weekend to you!

38 comments:

awesome projects aimee! you mention 4-H... oh the memories! to this day I can't plant marigolds...long story...however, i am on board with the 'use what you got'...never the less, like the good consumer I am, I went to Dick Blicks for gouache..fresh out of my favorite blue. :-) happy weekend to you!

I too am trying to use what I have - and I have a wealth of "stuff" to craft with. Sometime I think I buy new supplies because I am tired of the "stuff" I have...Love the pic of your little helper! I love looking at children's hands - the dimples on the top of their hands are my favorite place to kiss.I loved my times at home with my girls (now 32 & 30 years old). WOW! re-reading this - I must have a "sentimental" mood going!?Perhaps I need a "kid connection" - need to borrow a little one for the morning to "craft" Haven't seen my granddaughter since Spring Break.chrissilverlinings4me.blogspot.com

oh birdiegirl, a penny for your thoughts. you are so cute and i love your dress and pink pants. you did a great job with the paper flowers. i love paper + flowers so they are delightful. go drain guy go. have a fun weekend in artsyville!

I realize this is the way your mind and spirit work, but none of this looks easy to me. It all looks amazingly wonderful and whimsical, but I'm not one of the "everyone" you think has done this stuff. I'm continuously amazed at how much you DO to spark your kids' creativity and fill the world with unique, stunning beauty. Color me impressed!

GORGEOUS! I love this post...those are so pretty as are the vases (some of my favorite things to decoupage). I love the color and life that fills your home...it's like a little slice of happiness..thanks for sharing

AND I commented on the rockin' necklace pendants you made - you were the spark of inspiration for me to create a ring and I'm creating more...here's the one I did - http://thursdaysweettreat.blogspot.com/2010/04/exceptional-artists-choose-themes-that.html (it's at the bottom) rough but such fun. Thanks for all that you give!

what incredible flowers! i just adore all of the colors, and i have never made them before, so to me it is original:) i am so happy to have found your blog and etsy shop. i just love all of the fun and color! thank you for being such an inspiration :) i can't wait to stop back again.

love these and thanks for telling us how, i haven't ever done them before. and as for birdiegirl, what a little sweetie pie. hugs to the girls from joss in london. (and a hug for you too of course).wordveri:raingst.....lol

Beautiful. I know I must have an August 2008 in my medicine cabinet, but no coffee filters, liquid watercolors or bamboo skewers ... would the project work ok if I just bought those:)?You lost me on the glass vases. I read it over and over, but I don't think I understand your decoupage technique. They look terrific though!

This is a great idea! I love your blog. It is wonderful. I am hosting Flower Week at my blog and I hope you'll stop by.http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/2010/05/flower-week-begins-may-24th.html